The best Japanese horror games have really been able to exemplify the personal feeling of the genre to me – compared to movies, gaming is often a longer form as you spend days or months struggling to get through difficult challenges, or replaying them to try to master your way through. Regardless of medium, what scares one person may bounce off someone else, meaning you can build special connections with what really gets under your skin.
Memories of time spent alone in dark rooms, almost crushing a PlayStation controller because of how scary some of my favorite Japanese horror games are precious ones. I love some Japanese horror movies too (Pulse is an all-timer creeper), but I prefer playing a game because of the degree of control it can give me. Yes, I may be a scaredy cat, but that actually means I can enjoy terrifying gaming all the more.
